March 31, 2019 | NBC News
Join us for the 2019 Cesar Chavez Legacy Awards Gala
The Cesar Chavez Foundation invites you to join us in celebrating our 18th annual Legacy Awards Gala. The event will bring together national and local leaders from every sector of business, government, labor and education and promises to be as entertaining as it will be inspiring. On this night, we will remember the life and work of Cesar Chavez and honor distinguished individuals for their commitment to social justice and their positive contributions and outstanding leadership in their respective fields The Cesar Chavez Legacy Awards are presented to individuals who exemplify excellence and commitment to community and advocacy.
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When: Thursday, April 4, 2019
Where: The Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles
Contact: Nora Benavides, nbenavides@chavezfoundation.org
Cesar Chavez Grandson at Dedication in Salinas of Plaque Where Chavez Was Jailed in 1970
A bronze plaque was dedicated Tuesday, December 4 in Salinas outside the Old Monterey County Jail, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 because of its link with the incarceration there of Cesar Chavez on Dec. 4, 1970. He had disobeyed a rural judge’s injunction against the boycott of a huge Salinas Valley vegetable grower. As he was being led away in the Salinas courtroom after the judge ordered him to jail, Chavez defiantly said, “Boycott the hell out of them.” After 20 days, on Christmas Eve, he was ordered set free by the California Supreme Court, which later found the injunction unconstitutional. Coretta Scott King and Ethel Kennedy, widows of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, visited him at the jail.
“The lessons learned nearly 50 years apply today,” said Andres Chavez, 24, a Chavez grandson representing the Chavez family and Cesar Chavez Foundation at the plaque unveiling ceremony in front of the old jail. “It is my hope that this plaque serves as a source of inspiration and a call to action to be courageous and to always stand on the right side of history, whether it be resisting the separation of families or continuing to support the farm workers’ right to organize.”
¡Yo Aqui Cuento!
In 1984, long before most people were talking about Latinos being the “sleeping giant” in electoral politics, Cesar Chavez spoke of the political power that came with the growing numbers of Latinos. Cesar’s words spoken over 30 years ago during the Commonwealth Club Address resonate now more than ever:
“Like the other immigrant groups, the day will come when we win the economic and political rewards which are in keeping with our numbers in society. The day will come when the politicians do the right thing by our people out of political necessity and not out of charity or idealism.
That day may not come this year. That day may not come during this decade. But it will come, someday!”
Follow along with the Yo Aqui Cuento campaign on the Cesar Chavez Foundation’s Facebook page to learn about the importance of voting and don’t forget to exercise your right to vote on November 6, 2018.